VW Adds Auto Option to Up!

If youre unable to drive a manual vehicle, never learned or simply dont want to, Volkswagen has given its up! city car an option just for you.

Joining the up! range for the princely sum of 595, the new gearbox is simple, light-weight, and even saves you a little fuel over the manual option, which might be enough to tempt those whod normally plump for the manual too.

Rather than using an all-new torque converter or the complicated and expensive dual-clutch option found in some VWs, the ASG gearbox is instead an automated manual.

Internally, its much the same as the five-speed manual found in any up! (or indeed, any Skoda Citigo or SEAT Mii), but the clutch and gear selection is electronically controlled, giving your left leg a rest.

Selecting gears can be left to the gearbox in auto mode, or chosen manually with the sequential option. To save cost you arent granted F1-style paddles on the steering wheel, but you can still rock the gear lever fore and aft and pretend youre sitting on the grid with Jason Plato.

It should be simple enough to operate - as a converted manual theres not even the traditional Park function, just Drive, Neutral and Reverse. It also weighs barely more than the manual, shifts gears economically - fuel consumption is between 1.4 and 2.7mpg better than the equivalent manual - and results in lower emissions.

Its not available on BlueMotion Technology models, nor on the up! Black and White special editions, but youll find it on everything else. You can order it now, and deliveries start in October.

Conclusion

Weve yet to drive the automatic up!, but we hope the shift is a little smoother than some automated manuals weve driven in the past. Sometimes shifts can be a little staccato, which makes them a little less relaxing than an auto should be.

If VW has fixed this, then the inexpensive auto option might be worth going for - youll reap the benefits in ease of use and economy.

For more information, check out our full summary of the VW Up alongside reviews, stats, photos and videos. For the best deals on the Up! take a look here.

Save on average £3,600: Between January 2016 and March 2016 carwow buyers saved on average £3,600 off the RRP of car configurations.

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